Customer Reviews

The Everychurch Guide to Growth: How Any Plateaued Church Can Grow

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Was our Lord a marketing and/or sociological expert? Were his apostles the same?

These three church growth experts want us at times to believe that they were, and at others they were not. Witness the statements at times like this one at the end, which seems to be hedging all that has been previously written: "When the church obeys Jesus, it will grow, even though Jesus did not command it to grow. He only expected growth when the right things were done." So, when the pastor(s) do the right Jesus things, growth (numerical to be sure) will happen, and when they don't, stagnation, plateauing, etc. This is doubletalk. Either Jesus backs up these CG procedures or He doesn't. To this reviewer, I'm convinced of the latter.

It is one marketing/management/sociological list of three this, five this, eight this, ten this .... items that if you do them then Jesus will bless your church and you will grow.

What is bogus is that such as George Barna who have looked at this quantitatively have determined that CG has be deceiving us, because in the last 25-30 years they have not changed the number of American Christians as they contend. (see his book:Boiling Point, page 236.) Also, great deal of sheep stealing making these big churches. (see Chadwick's "Stealing Sheep.")

Certainly there are some common-sense things in here that are helpful in caring for souls, e.g. polity styles, assimilation, etc. But to lean towards the pleasing of potential member needs (classic definition of marketing) takes the proclamation of the gospel out of the equation and places control into hands of those who have least knowledge of what the kingdom of God is all about. Creates dangerous "bait and switch) approach with little if no attention ever exerted to switch.

Further, non-Biblical view of fellowship, i.e. Greek koinoinia. They use the Schliermachian view of people in common having something together, rather than Biblical view always tied to body and blood communion in Sacrament.

Highly not recommended.

This is a good book on church growth, even though it is hard to understand at some parts. I used this for a class on Evangelism and church Growth and really enjoyed it.